


The Rustov's Mark

by PUNKNERD156



Category: Jack Blank Adventures - Matt Myklusch
Genre: Angst, Animal Traits, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Body Modification, Brotherly Bonding, Claws, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Feels, First Kiss, Gen, Horns, Hurt/Comfort, Scorpion!Jack, Sickfic, Team Bonding, Team as Family, fangs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:56:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PUNKNERD156/pseuds/PUNKNERD156
Summary: After a week of Jack suffering from a strange illness, it is revealed that Jack's Rustov parasite, Khalix, is acting like a normal Rustov Para-soldier and it slowly killing Jack once again. With time running out, it is up to Jack and those dear to him to figure out a way to save him before it's too late.
Relationships: Allegra/Jack Blank, Skerren/Trea (Jack Blank), Solomon Roka and Jack Blank, Tabula Rasa/Solomon Roka
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Nightmares and Daydreams](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12897771) by [TheLastValkyrie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastValkyrie/pseuds/TheLastValkyrie). 



> Hi! I love, love, love the Jack Blank trilogy and I love how Jack has the largest potential for angsty themes and an even crazier life after the second invasion in book three. This is a take on that!
> 
> This fic is inspired by TheLastValkyrie's fic Nightmares and Daydreams, so please go over and support her as well! Valkyrie, thank you for inspiring me to write this, and I think you're great!!
> 
> I hope everyone likes this fic!

All Jack saw was darkness. He tried moving his head, but it felt slow and heavy. His eyelids felt the same, but he opened them albeit slowly. He groaned as the bright sunlight- wait, he didn’t have a window close to his bed.  
Jack sat up quickly, panic beginning to rise in his chest, making it harder to breathe. All of a sudden doctors and nurses from left and right began pushing him down by his shoulders. In his haze of fear, Jack’s vision blurred and all the doctors turned into Rustov doctors, ready to do whatever experiments they wanted. He cried out and thrashed against the hands pushing him down and the lights in the room began to intensify and flicker as Jack got more and more frightened. Then, he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck. The last thing he saw was the glare of hospital lights above him and the shadows of those damn doctors around him. 

\----

Solomon Roka paced the waiting room of the hospital, running his hands through his hair and muttering under his breath. The lights above him flickered. 

What is taking them so long? Roka thought anxiously, looking at the clock on the wall. 

“Solomon!”

Roka turned quickly to see Jazen bursting through the hospital doors towards him along with Blue. 

“We came as soon as you called.” Blue panted while flopping himself in a plastic chair nearby. 

“What happened? Where’s Jack? Is he okay?” Jazen questioned with wide eyes. 

Solomon shrugged and shook his head. 

“I don’t know... The doctors took him as soon as we got here and I haven’t heard anything since.”

“Okay..” Jazen sighed, rubbing his face, “Well, I guess we just... Gotta wait?” 

He heavily sat in the chair next to Blue, who was tapping his foot impatiently. 

“I guess so…” Roka slumped into the last chair next to Jazen. 

A few moments later, an older doctor walked through the double doors separating the waiting room from the rest of the hospital. He carried a professional air about him and in his hand was a clipboard.

“Solomon Roka?”

Roka stood up and shook the doctor’s hand.

“How is he? Is he okay? What’s happening?” Roka said with concern etched into his features. 

“Well,” the doctor began, “I know that after everything that has happened, this may not be the news you wanted, but...Jack’s parasite is killing him once more.”

A large pause hung in the air before all three men exploded on the doctor. 

“WHAT?” yelled Blue, taking a menacing step towards the doctor. 

“What are you talking about?” Jazen glared while clenching his fists so hard you could hear the metal underneath his skin creak from the force. 

“What,” Solomon grabbed the doctor by his coat lapels and slammed him against the wall, “the hell do you mean?” 

The doctor took a breath and explained as calmly as he could to the furious man.

“Jack’s parasite is acting on a sort of… default mode. Now, the parasite is acting like a normal Rustov parasite. But, because of Jack’s powers and unique relationship with the Rustov, he is turning much slower than normal. He is dying and turning into another Para-soldier, there’s no doubt about that. The only way for him to survive is if the parasite leaves his body or he pushes it out as he did with everyone else during the second invasion, but, so far, he has refused to do so. And, to be honest, we don’t even know if he can with how weak he is getting. I’m sorry.” 

The doctor slowly took Roka’s hands off of his coat and stepped away to let everyone process what he had just said. 

Blue’s face was gobsmacked with his mouth hanging open. 

Jazen’s face was ashen and he leaned heavily on the wall.

But Solomon Roka’s face looked as though his whole world had ended. It ended once with the last breath of Tabula, and now, it was beginning to crumble with the diagnosis of his only son.

Jazen was the first to gather his words and looked at the doctor, “So...what are we supposed to do?” 

“I suggest you take what time he has left altogether. Our estimation is about 5 to 6 months. Also, remember that because of his powers and body, he will be turning much slower and that means that it will be -well- more painful and uncomfortable for him than others who have been turned,” the doctor cleared his throat, “As of recently, we had to sedate him because, if his powers went haywire, that would mean a lot of people in this hospital would be in trouble. He should wake up in a couple of hours, but we prefer him to be taken home, especially if he is going to act like he did last time he woke up. We’ll bring him down by the exit for you all to take him home. Good luck and goodbye, gentlemen.”

And, with a nod, the doctor left.

Silence overtook them as they all wrestled with what the doctor said and what it meant to each of them. All of them thinking about Jack and what he meant to each of them. After a few moments of crippling silence, Blue clapped his hands loudly “Welp, I guess we better go get him, huh?” 

“Yeah...alright,” replied Jazen. He turned to Roka, still standing in the middle of the waiting room with a look of pure helplessness. Jazen placed his hand on Roka’s shoulder and said “C’mon, we better go get Jack.”

Solomon looked at Jazen with pain in his eyes and nodded once. He looked around the waiting room and seemed to have gathered his thoughts. He looked back at Jazen with a determined look on his face.

“Let’s go. We’ve got about 5 months to save Jack, so we better start now.”


	2. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Solomon have a talk about the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo, chapter 2!

They waited for him by the back exit of the hospital. 

Blue, Jazen, and Solomon were all leaning against Jazen’s sleek black car by the hospital’s trash cans. Although the city had forgiven Jack’s involvement with the Rustov, some cameras were always on the lookout for anything new to dish on him. Mainly the few Smartcams that were still in use. 

“Gosh, you’d think they would’ve wheeled him out faster considerin’ how much they wanted to get rid of ‘im.” Blue sighed, picking under his nails. 

“Yeah…” Jazen crossed his arms, “ I hope everything is alright.”

Roka hummed in agreement with his eyes never leaving the back door of the hospital. Finally, the doors opened and a small team of doctors wheeled Jack out in a wheelchair. He was still asleep with his head slumped towards his chest and his dark blond hair covering his face. 

“Mr. Roka,” the doctor nodded to Solomon, “We couldn’t risk him waking up in the hospital, I hope you understand. I already explained everything, but...uh… once things get a little more… serious… you can take him back here and we can provide the necessary supervision and comforts for him to pass away peacef-”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Solomon glared, “Give me my kid and we’ll be on the way.”

The doctor sighed, but stepped away to allow Jazen to effortlessly lift Jack bridal-style into his arms. Jack’s head rolled onto Jazen’s shoulder, causing Jazen to smile lovingly down at him. He carried and placed him in the back seat of the car, letting Jack use his legs as a pillow. 

“Bye, doc!” Blue waved and got into the passenger seat, while Solomon started up the car. The drive was relatively quiet in the beginning with the only noises being little snores and quiet mumbling coming from Jack. Jazen looked down at Jack and began to card his fingers through Jack’s hair. 

“What are you gonna tell to the others, Solomon?” Jazen asked, glancing up.

“The truth, I guess.” 

Jazen and Blue mulled over that, while each one of them would glance down at Jack every once in a while and the muted Rustov scar around his eye. 

“I think,” Roka began, staring straight at the road, “that tonight I’ll talk to Jack about everything and then, maybe, tomorrow we can tell everybody else. We’re gonna need all the help we can get, ya know?”

Jazen nodded slowly, “Yeah, I left Virtua at our date for this, so she probably needs an explanation for that soon.”

“Yeah,” Blue said, “I left a meeting with Midknight for this, and you know you can’t just skip out on Midknight like that.”

Solomon winced, “Sorry, guys… You didn’t have to do all that, I just thought you should have known…”

“Hey,” Blue put his giant blue hand on Solomon’s shoulder, “All of us would have dropped anything for Jack and you know that. It’s okay. And besides, once everyone knows about what happened, they’ll completely forget about me skipping out on Midknight and Jazen leaving his girlfriend while on a date.”

“Thanks, Blue,” Jazen deadpanned. 

“No problem, partner.”

Jazen rolled his eyes while Solomon chuckled weakly. He continued to run his hand through Jack’s hair, noticing for the first time the slightest curl to it. Jack’s face was completely relaxed. He looked so much younger with his eyes closed. When they were open, there was a sense of painful wisdom in them, making Jack seem to look a bit older than he was. After everything he’s been through, it only makes sense that he wouldn't be completely unscathed. At least he wasn’t a hunk of regenerating metal scraps anymore. That was crazy. 

Solomon pulled the car up the driveway of a grand house, though it looked more like a mansion. Jazen looked out at the house with amazement, while Blue whistled. 

“This is where you guys are stayin’?” Blue asked. 

“Yeah…” Solomon parked and turned the car off, “It was sudden, but I told Stendeval that Jack and I needed a place to stay and, apparently, he told Noteworthy. You know Noteworthy feels bad about how he treated Jack, so he’s sorta letting us borrow one of his many houses for now.”

Jazen hummed and Blue rescinded with “It’s the least he could do especially after how he treated Jack, the no-good-”

“Easy, Blue. Let’s focus on the important stuff, which is helping Jack.” Jazen said, opening the door and carrying Jack out of the car. The men went past a cozy and large front porch to the front door where Solomon pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door quickly, just wanting to get his son in bed, safe and sound. Solomon went in and held the door open for Jazen to maneuver Jack through the door. Jazen and Blue looked at the house in awe. On their left was a grand dining room; on their right was a door leading to a small library, full of comfy chairs and warm lamps. 

“Uh, there’s a room just over here..” Solomon quickly led the others down a short hallway. At the end was a sparse bedroom with just a bed, side tables, and a small chair in the corner, but it was better than the hospital. Blue and Solomon helped Jazen lay Jack down in the bed. Solomon fluffed the pillows behind Jack’s head, while Jazen gently took off Jack’s scuffed up sneakers and Blue folded the soft covers over the young boy. Solomon walked past the other men and dragged the armchair in the corner by the bed and firmly sat himself in it. 

“Um, thanks, guys, for all your help,” he said, never taking his eyes off of his son, “You guys can go, I’ll take care of it from here.”

“Are you sure?” Blue questioned softly.

“Yeah…I’ll call you if anything happens.”

Blue and Jazen looked at each other and then glanced at Solomon with worried eyes. Blue patted Solomon’s shoulder and, with one last look at Jack, Blue and Jazen left a father and a son to their own devices. 

Solomon gazed down at Jack, memorizing every aspect of his face. After everything that has happened, after everything he had been through, after everything Jack had been through, now they have to go through something like this. Not even two weeks later. Solomon can still recall the first time he met Jack, a boy stepping out of a cryo-pod, looking dazed and confused with the Rustov’s mark dark around his eye. 

His thoughts began to work on how exactly he is going to tell his son, his kid that his parasite is trying to ruin his life again. Or that Jack only has half of a year to live. Or that that half of a year is going to be painful as his body turns into scraps of metal for the second time. Or how Solomon would have to tell all the people in his and Jack’s life about it and how they will react.

Solomon sighed loudly and ran his hands through his hair, leaning back in the way too comfy chair. The events of the past long hours were finally catching up to him and made his eyes heavier and heavier until, finally, he fell asleep. 

It wasn’t long after that he was awoken by a low, muffled groaning. Solomon’s tired eyes immediately were wide open and he lurched forward over Jack as he began to wake up. 

“Jack? Kid?” Solomon asked worriedly. 

Jack’s eyes fluttered open at first, but then he immediately shot up, scrambling back against the headboard of the bed and frantically looking around. 

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay, Jack! It’s me,” Solomon slowly leaned towards Jack. Jack jerked his head to the sound of Solomon’s voice. His unfocused eyes began to clear and recognition began to set in. 

“Dad…” Jack looked around the room slowly, “what…” 

“It’s alright. You’re safe. We’re at one of Clarkston’s houses, he’s lending it to us for a little while.” Solomon leaned on his knees, staring at Jack’s face and looking for any sign of pain, “Are you alright…?”

“I… I don’t know.” Jack rubbed his eyes firmly.

Solomon sighed, “Okay, that’s fine… Uh, Does anything hurt?”

“Uh…” Jack gulped, even though his tongue and mouth felt like cotton. His head pulsed with pain and his eyes burned. His jaw was sore as well, probably from clenching it in his sleep. And his shoulders hurt. Why did they hurt? Jack tried to rack his brain for a reason, but all he could really remember was the harsh lights of a white room and shadows pushing him down. 

I guess it was the shadows, Jack mused numbly.

“Jack.”

Jack’s head jerked up to meet Solomon’s gaze. Concern was all over his face even though he tried to hide it. 

“Uh, I-”

“It’s okay if anything hurts. You can tell me,” Solomon hoped Jack would listen to him. While they were on their vacation cut short, Jack and he began to discuss some ground rules, especially because they were a family now. A family that had a dad who never had a kid before and a son who had never had a dad before. One of the biggest rules was that he and Jack had to communicate if they wanted to be good at this whole family thing. No lying, no hiding anything from each other. This was also the most difficult for both of them. Solomon had lived most of his life lying and manipulating things to get what needed to be done. He didn't almost go to intergalactic prison for decades for nothing. And, fortuneately/unfortunately for him, Jack seemed to be a perfect mix of him and Tabula. Jack had already told Solomon his whole life story, starting from him being left on the New Jersey orphanage’s front steps to the tragic events that happened two years prior- the Spyware virus and Jack’s constant lying to the people closest to him. They had promised each other that they would always tell the truth to one another, especially involving Jack being injured. 

Jack shrugged feebly, “My head kinda hurts…”

“Kinda?” Solomon raised an eyebrow. 

“Uh,” Jack rubbed his eyes, “I guess it hurts a lot…”

“That’s what I thought,” Solomon patted Jack’s knee and got up, “I’ll go grab some painkillers. You stay here.”

“Like I’m gonna go anywhere.”

Solomon chuckled weakly and went to go find some medicine. While he was gone, Jack looked around the room, but everything was pretty bland. He absentmindedly rubbed the blanket he was in and it was definitely more expensive than anything he’s had before. But that’s not saying much. Sudden exhaustion hit Jack hard, making his eyes droop, even though he had just woke up. He wasn’t feeling very comfortable with sleeping in this random house- mansion?- but his dad was with him. His dad. It was a little difficult putting his full trust into the man, but the trust issues were mostly overpowered by the want of having a dad. Jack has been wanting to know about his family ever since he found out he could have had one. Granted, him finding out about his dad was dramatic and unexpected, but he wouldn’t change it. 

Jack sighed and buried himself back into the super soft blankets and pillows around him. His whole body was groggy and achy, but he knew that he and his dad needed to have a talk when he came back. Weeks before Jack collapsed, he noticed he felt more and more tired and that his nightmares and flashbacks were getting worse. Not like he would ever tell his dad about the nightmares and other problems Jack carried around, but he felt that if he maybe, just maybe, told his dad about feeling bad earlier, all of this wouldn’t be happening so crazily. He knew it was Khalix doing all of this to him. Just because he didn’t speak with or communicate with his otherworldly parasite didn’t mean he never knew what was happening between his body and Khalix. Jack’s deep understanding of his paraste had him instantly knowing what was happening.

He was dying.

He is dying; the longer it takes, the worse Jack will be. 

He decided that he wouldn’t think too hard about it and just wait for his dad to come back. Shortly after, Solomon came back, holding a small bottle of painkillers and a water bottle. 

“Sorry, it took me forever to find these in this place,” he sat in his chair and placed the bottle on the nightstand next to the bed, “You alright?”

Jack shrugged. Solomon shook out a couple pills for Jack and helped him take small sips of water. 

Solomon sighed heavily, rubbing his face, “Listen, kid, there’s something I need to talk to you about. If you wanna sleep some more, that’s fine, we can talk about it later, bu-”

“Dad.”

Solomon shut his mouth with an almost audible click, watching Jack grimace and sitting up to look Solomon in the eye. 

“I already know. About everything.”

“You...you do?” Solomon said with an incredulous look, “but...how?”

“Just because I may not talk to Khalix anymore doesn’t mean I don’t know what he’s up to” Jack replied with tired eyes, “I know that he’s acting like a normal Rustov parasite and I know that...he’s killing me. And I know that if I don’t do something soon, I’ll die.”

“Oh… well...okay, how are you handling it?” Solomon asked.

When he thought about it, Jack felt like he could handle it, but saying it out loud made it real. He’s dying, again. It’s happening too soon, he thought. He just recently won the war and his parasite and now it’s coming back to bite him. He just recently-literally a week and a couple days- got a dad and his friends are okay and everything was feeling fine and nice and everything felt like Jack could relax and breathe after ages and he was hoping that he wouldn’t have to keep on worrying about the Rustov and his nightmares and all the flashbacks and being alone and dying and-

“Jack!”

Jack’s breath came out in fast, shallow wheezes that made his chest ache and head heavy. He clutched the blanket with shaky hands, but it was a feeble attempt to comfort himself.

“Hey, hey, uh. It-It’s alright, it’s okay. You gotta breathe with me, alright?” Solomon gently took Jack’s hand and placed it on his chest, taking large and exaggerated breaths. Jack attempted to copy it, but it took a while before he convinced himself that he wasn’t going to drop dead anytime soon. Finally, he took a deep breath and slumped down into the covers, ten times more exhausted than before. 

“You alright now?” Solomon murmured.

Jack nodded and cleared his throat, hoping to ignore the embarrassment of what just happened, “When are we gonna tell everyone…?”

“Well,” Solomon leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, “I was hoping soon like tomorrow, but it’s completely up to you.” He glanced at Jack, “ What do you think?”

Jack knew that the sooner he told his friends, the better, but he felt bad; he was bone tired, his stomach was running on empty, and he wanted a hot, hot shower to wash away everything that had happened that day. 

“Can...can we do it tomorrow? We can break it to them over lunch or something. I’m really tired…”

“Yeah, kid, of course,” Solomon gently ruffled his kid’s hair, “well, I guess I’ll let you go to sle-“

Soft snores interrupted him and he looked down to see Jack had completely passed out. He sighed, but got up and stretched-he was not getting any younger- pulled the covers over Jack and left to his own room for some needed shut eye. Tomorrow was going to be another stressful day and he and Jack were gonna need all the rest they can get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Any comments are greatly appreciated!


	3. ALLEGRA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack talks to Allegra about the trashy news that is his life.

ALLEGRA

Jack woke up slowly, warm and cozy in expensive sheets fit for a king, but the events of yesterday came crashing down around him, leaving him cold and worried. Sitting up, Jack wrapped his arms around his knees and trembled as complete and utter helplessness and fear filled his body, making him feel sick. 

‘God, Jack, get your shit together,’ he thought. He closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths, and then threw back the covers to hop out of bed. There were too many things to get done to be wallowing in self pity. 

‘First thing first: a shower,’ he thought, looking around the sparsely furnished room and quickly a closet on the side wall. Inside were some of the new clothes Jack got from the trip; now that Solomon and the rest of the world remembered Solomon Roka was actually a Solomon Noteworthy, he and Jack suddenly gained all the fortune that comes with the family name. Neither Jack or Solomon were used to money like that, but that didn’t mean they let it go to waste either. Jack’s new wardrobe consisted of clothes that he actually had a say in wearing unlike at the orphanage. His closet was now full of band tees and shirts with inventor puns and hoodies and sweaters and ripped jeans and plenty of new Converse sneakers and boots and even a suit that was gifted by “Uncle Clarkston”, just in case Jack ever went to a gala or “sophisticated” party. Jack scoffed at the very notion that he’ll ever go to one of Clarkston’s galas or whatever he called them. Quickly pulling his brand new red Converse hightops, dark skinny jeans, and a black hoodie with red letters stating ‘Grease Monkey’, Jack hopped into the bathroom connected to the room and made quick use of the very high quality shampoos and soaps. After politely asking the shower to turn on (because he could), Jack’s stress and worry began to wash away with the hot water down the drain.

He took his time, making sure to clean away any sweat or grime that was still on him and replacing it with the warm scent of vanilla. Even though the vanilla smell and the cozy warmth of the water filled him with a sense of peace, darker thoughts full of panic and worry tried to trickle into his mind. Jack shook his head as though he could shake away the doubt in his chest; ‘I don’t have time for any of that..gotta keep it together..’ he thought, turning the shower off and stepping out to dry off with the world’s softest towel. He buried his face in it and breathed in deeply a couple of times to gather himself. Drying off quickly, Jack risked a glance in the large bathroom mirror.   
Looking into a mirror used to be as simple as any other daily activity a couple of years ago, but ever since he learned about Khalix and then getting the faded Rustov mark still around his eye, it’s been getting a little harder. And, a little ridiculous- it’s a simple thing to do, but everytime he does, he can never really seem to like what he sees. He would never tell anyone about it, but sometimes he wishes someone would just know and say it’s okay. This time, like every other time, he was alone and staring at a stranger. Jack looked a little more thin with somewhat glasier eyes than normal and his faded Rustov mark seemed a lot darker against his pale complexion. Hopefully, no one will really question anything. Even still, looking into the mirror too long made him feel a little uncomfortable.  
Jack quickly brushed his teeth and freshened up and then threw on the clothes he set out, relishing in their high-quality material against his skin. Grabbing his brand new phone (which he made his own personal upgrades to), he set out to find his dad and get on with the day.   
Instantly after leaving his room, the smell of pancakes hit him and made his stomach rumble in agreement. Jack followed the delicious smell past the dining room which opened into a large, open room that had a stylish stainless steel kitchen and shared the space with a cozy living room and a giant flatscreen tv on the wall. He looked around in awe, still not used to such grand and expensive places, until his eyes landed on Solomon in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes while the stacks of pancakes next to plates of bacon, eggs, and toast cooled.  
“Morning,” Jack sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen, almost drooling at the sight of all the food in front of him. Solomon jumped at the sound of his son’s voice, too lost in thought to have heard him coming in. He turned and began making a plate for himself and Jack.  
“Morning, kid,” he glanced up at Jack and his new clothes and set down a plate in front of Jack, “How are you feeling…?”  
Jack began picking at his stack of pancakes and hunched in a little bit. He wasn’t expecting his dad to ask about his wellbeing this early in the morning and he knew his dad wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Jack understood that what was happening was important for his life and that they were going to have to talk more and more about it, but he really did not want to talk about it more than he needed to. After everything he has been through, he still hasn’t had a moment for everything to set in and he knew that when it did, he was gonna have a full breakdown. Hopefully, it won’t be in the kitchen next to his beautiful pancakes.   
“I’m fine, I guess…”  
“Jack.” Solomon warned.  
Jack glanced up at his dad and back down, quickly stabbing his fork into a giant pancake and stuffing it in his mouth in order to avoid a little bit of the incoming conversation. Solomon sighed and sat down across Jack with his own plate of food, moving his eggs around as he found the words to say.   
“Jack, I know that this is… scary and… difficult, but we have to try and figure some stuff out. And that starts with us telling our friends about what is happening. We...we can’t do this by ourselves and they deserve to know. So. How do you think we should do this?” Solomon finished, taking a large bite of eggs. Jack nibbled on his toast while he mused on that question. How exactly does he tell the others? Doing it one on one seems very drawn out, but how was it any better as a group? It would be easier as a group, so Jack only had to explain it once. Jack began thinking about how everyone would take it and, of course, that instantly led to the thought of how Allegra would take it. Her and Jack have been best friends for years and they’ve been through so much together. In the beginning, Jack and her were just friends, even though Jack thought she was cute, but over time, Jack realized that what he felt for her was more than just friends. She was the one who he looked to when anything important was going on and his feelings for her intensified the moment he saw her being turned into a Rustov Para-Soldier. He never wanted to see her hurt again and only wanted to be by her side, no matter what. It dawned on him that if push comes to shove and he only did have a couple months left, then she wouldn’t know how he felt and that wasn’t something Jack wanted. If he did only have a little bit left, then he wanted Allegra to know how he feels. He made up his mind about the matter.  
“I think…” Jack started, prompting Solomon to look at his son and listen, “I think that we should tell everybody all together… but I want to talk to someone first...one on one, if that’s alright.”   
Solomon nodded and fished for the last bits of his food, “Yeah, alright, that’s fine. Who are you gonna talk to before?”  
“... Allegra.”  
Solomon jerked his head up towards Jack and studied him for a second. Jack was moving the food on his plate around nervously, not looking at Solomon with a faint blush on his cheeks. Now Solomon was not stupid and could tell that Jack had an obvious crush on Allegra and he knew that Allegra cared about Jack too. He hoped that she cared for Jack the same way because he didn’t think he could handle a heart-broken teenager just yet, but then again he didn’t know how to handle a teenager at all. Even though his parental instincts were screaming at him that Jack and Allegra alone together was a poor idea, Solomon also realized that the way Jack looked at Allegra when she was being turned into a Rustov was the same look Solomon had when he realized Tabula passed. Yes, Jack and Allegra were young, but it was obvious that they cared about each other a lot.   
“I think that’s fine. How are we exactly gonna plan out telling the rest of them?”  
“Maybe we can invite them all over somewhere and tell them?” Jack shrugged, “Maybe Stendeval can help with gathering everyone together.”  
“Yeah, I bet he can help a lot,” Solomon clapped once, making Jack jump, “Let’s hurry this up, so we don’t have to worry about it anymore than we need to, huh?”  
Jack gave a timid smile that looked more like a grimace and nodded, “Yeah, I guess we should.”  
Solomon’s eyes softened and he ruffled Jack’s hair, “It’s gonna be alright, okay?” Jack nodded again, feeling comforted with his dad by his side. Solomon walked a short ways to the living room and began dialing Stendeval’s number to call and explain everything and ask for his help in telling everyone else. Jack decided to go back to the bedroom he slept in- it didn’t really feel like a home or that the room could be his, but it’s what they got- and paced the room thinking about what he was going to say to Allegra. He would do what they always did, or at least what they should do, and that was tell the truth. And maybe tell her that he really likes her. Jack dialed her phone number and waited nervously for her to pick up. They had texted a couple of times while Jack was on vacation, but not that much due to her helping out the city’s efforts to rebuild everything.   
“Hello?”  
Jack gulped, pacing even faster with nervousness, “Uh, hey, Allegra, it’s Jack.”  
“Jack! Hi, I wasn’t expecting you, what’s up?”  
“Um, well, I just wanted to call to say that I’m back in the Imagine Nation and I got something important to tell you.”  
“Wait, you’re back home? What do you mean? Is something wrong? Where even are you exactly?”  
Jack ran his hands through his hair, “Listen, I’ll tell you everything in a little bit, just… I’m at one of Clarkston’s mansions or whatever. Can you- I mean, can you come over? I gotta tell you something. In person.”   
“Yeah, sure. Just send me the address and I’ll be there in a little bit. I’m… I’m glad your home, Jack.”  
Jack felt his cheeks heat up and his heart sped up, “Y-yeah, I’m sending the address now. See you in a bit.”  
“Okay! Bye.”  
Jack blew out a long breath, nerves wracking him at the thought of Allegra coming over. He decided that if the time was now to tell her how he feels then he would at least freshen up a bit. Moving back and forth from different places in his room, Jack didn’t even notice the silver-skinned girl leaning against the doorway with a barely suppressed grin. She waited a couple of seconds before clearing her throat. Jack practically jumped a mile in the air and twirled around with a shocked expression before he recognized the girl. Jack grinned sheepishly and opened his arms as the girl jumped into his arms.   
“Oh, my God, Jack, I can’t believe you’re here! You stopped responding to my texts, so I didn’t know what happened.” Allegra squealed and leaned back to study Jack’s face. Automatically, she could tell something was wrong with her best friend by the lackluster in his dirty blond hair, the slight darkness under his tired jade green eyes, and the paler complexion of his skin.   
Jack had jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throats and when he turned, he instantly felt embarrassment creep up his cheeks. Of all the things that Allegra had to walk in on, it had to be when Jack was running around, trying to make sure that he looked and smelt good enough for the Valorian. But when he took in the sight of his crush and his best friend, he grinned and felt, for once, safe. Still holding her in his arms, he let the feel of her against him make him breathe in a little bit of relief. Allegra pulled away and studied his features with her brow creasing in concern. She knew he wasn’t doing so hot, and it made his stomach cramp in nervous knots for what he was about to say to her.   
“Um, Allegra,” he cleared his throat, looking away from her, and went to close the door before leading her to the bed to sit and talk, “I’ve got...something really, uh, important and kind of really serious to talk to you about. And, I just thought you should be the first to know…” Jack twiddled his fingers together in his lap on the bed next to Allegra. Allegra noticed Jack’s nervousness and the seriousness in his voice and that scared her. Anytime Jack was upset or worried, she got nervous. After everything they had been through, Allegra didn’t know if she could take anything more, but she would if it meant staying next to Jack, no matter what.   
“Okay, what’s the matter? You know you can tell me anything,” she replied softly, scooting a tiny bit closer to him and folding her legs under her. Jack glanced at her, letting her give him the support he needed to tell her the travesty that is his life. He took a deep breath and began speaking slowly.   
“I….Khalix,” Allegra tensed and shifted uncomfortably at the parasite’s name, but let Jack continue, “He, um… he’s acting a lot worse now- he’s- well, he’s acting like a normal Rustov parasite now instead of the supersoldier special one he used to be. And. That means that now I am… dying… like a normally infected person,” Allegra sucked in a breath with her eyes widening in fear, “but because of my whole relationship with machines and the Rustov, I’m turning a lot, lot slower than normal, sooo… basically, I have about five months to figure out how to stop the infection or how to kick Khalix out before it’s too late.” Jack released the breath he was holding in and looked at Allegra for her reaction.  
Her face went through a series of different emotions before setting on resolve. She shuffled forward and wrapped her arms around Jack.   
“It’s going to be okay, Jack, alright? We’ve been through a lot already, we can do this… you can do this…”  
Jack's eyes started to burn from the oncoming set of tears welling up as he tucked his nose into Allegra’s neck, hugging back just as tightly. His mental and emotional health must be on the ritz if one phrase of support and care made him want to cry his eyes out. Allegra pulled away slowly, but kept her hands on his shoulders.  
“Are you okay?”   
Jack nodded softly, tracing over the Valorian’s features with his jade eyes. His heart began to pound as he realized this was a better-than-nothing time to tell her how he feels.   
“Allegra… I gotta tell you one more thing, um, I just feel like I should tell you before it’s too late, you know?”  
Allegra’s brows furrowed until she seemed to realize what he meant and her face went up in flames.  
“Okay…”  
Staring into his eyes and him to hers, time seemed to slow as their faces began inching closer and closer together. Both eyes fluttered shut and then-  
“Jack!”  
Solomon slammed open the door, making the two teens quickly jump apart on opposite sides of the bed, looking everywhere other than each other or Solomon. Solomon’s eyes narrowed as he studied both of them. Jack’s face was beet red, while Allegra’s blush only seemed to look like a darker silver over her cheeks.   
“Everyone got here really fast; Stendeval told them we had an emergency to talk about, which is true… so, come on down…”  
Allegra nodded and bounded up and out the door as fast as she could to get away from the awkwardness in the room. They both watched her leave and then Solomon turned to Jack with raised eyebrows. Jack’s face got even more red and stammered before rushing past his dad, hunched in complete and utter embarrassment. Solomon took a few minutes to ponder what he just almost walked in on, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of mental scarring, so he simply shut the door and made his way to the living room where all their friends were waiting to hear about the really shitty news about to happen.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated and wanted, so don't hesitate to comment on whatever!


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